Temperature controlled make and break apparatus



D. F. SMITH Dec. 12, 1933.

TEMPERATURE CONTROLLED MAKE AND BREAK APPARATUS Filed Aug. 10, 1928 2Sheets-Sheet, l

m Mr H La w I n? 1% n 1 e .w u 2 m I 21 9 in Smiih, WK

pmikankl Dec. 12, 1933. D, sMlTH 1,938,612

TEMPERATURE CONTROLLED MAKE AND BREAK APPARATUS Filed Aug. 10, 1928 2Sheets$heet. 2

-Znve7fl'or:

David Fkanklin Smith,

Patented Dec. 12, 1933 OFFICE f TEMPERATURE CONTROLLED MAKE AND BREAKAPPARATUS David Franklin Smith, Washington, 1). o.

Application August '10, 1928. Serial No. 298,641 4 Claims. (01. 175-375)Thelinvention is designed to provide means whereby a refrigeratingapparatus can be regulated so that it will be put into operation auto-'matically, when a' prescribed upper limit of temperature is reached. andwill cease to operate when a prescribed low temperature is reached. Afurther object of the invention isto provide means by which theapparatus can be set for various temperature ranges, that is to say, itmay be set to begin working when any chosen upper temperature is reachedand to cease work ing when any chosen low temperature is attained, orthe reverse when used with a heating apparatus.

A further object is to provide means whereby different temperatureranges may be automatically established at different times.

The invention shown in the accompanying drawings in which: I

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic drawing of my in- Vention used in connectionwith refrigerating apparatus.

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic drawing of my invention used in connection withheating apparatus.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the brushes and contacts on the clock.

; Fig. 4 is a View ofthe commutator disc.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view of the series of plugin connections and the.structure of the mercury tube.

In Fig. l of the drawings. the motor for the refrigerating apparatus isindicated at I. This is adapted to be driven electrically throughcircuit wires 2, 3 leading from contacts 4, 5, when solenoid operatedcontacts 6, '7 close with said contacts 1, 5. The solenoid contacts 6, 7are carried by an insulating bar 8 which is secured to thestem 9arranged axially within the solenoid coil 10. To contact 6 is connectedthe cir- 40 cuit wire 11 which is connected with a source of electricpower'sueh as city system and the contact 7 has connected to it theother lead wire 12 of this system. c

The solenoidhas one lead wire 13 connected with power lead wire 12 (orit may be connected with lead wire 11) the other power lead wire 11 (or12) being connected through wire 16 with the mercury infa bulb 17 fromwhich atube-18 extends upwardly and is graduated as shown formingvirtually a thermometer.

The other end of the solenoid coil is connected to high limit conductingwire. 19 which can be plugged in to any of the. contact sockets. 20arranged in a row alongside the thermometer tube to determine the upperlimit of temperatureat which the motor will begin to work. Thesesockets'are connected electrically with the interior of the mercury tubeat heights correspondto the height of the respective sockets. There. isa low limit conducting wire 21 which 3 extends to a contact 22 companionto.contact 23 carried by the insulated cross head 8 of the stem 9 of thesolenoid. The contact 23 is connected by conducting wire 24 with wire19.

The low limit conducting .wire. 21 can be plug ed into any one of thesockets 20 to determine thelow limit of temperature at which themotorwill cease its operation. The solenoid coreis shown at 10a. I

With the parts in the position shown, it will be understood. that themotorfhas driven the refrigerating apparatus. until the chosen lowtemperature. has been reached; i. e., 46 degrees F. and said motor hasceased operation- The range of rising temperature during which the motorand consequentlythe regfrigerating apparatus will remain out of work is,according to the set up shown in .the diagram, between 46 and 50 F.because the leads 21 and'19 respectively have been plugged into thosesockets of the series 20 corresponding to these degrees of temperature.Consequently, there is established the range of temperatureduring'which, when rising from the low limit 46 to the high limit 50,the motor and refrigerating apparatus will remain at rest and whenfalling from 50 to 46 the motor and refrigerating "appara'tuswill be atwork. I The diagram represents that the low limit 46 has been reached.The motor contacts 4-6 and 5-7 are open and the motor is at rest. Thecontacts 22, 23, are alsoopen. Now' upon a rise in temperature themercury will move upwardly in the tube. 18 and when 50? is reached, lead19 having been plugged into the socket corresponding ing to 50, electriccontact will be established between the mercury and the lead 19 andwe-will then have a circuit established through lead 19, solenoid coil10,.wire 13, lead 12, then through the other side 11 offlthe powersource through wire 16 to mercury in bulb l7.

The solenoid will be energized, draw up its core 10a, raise thev stem 9with its cross head 8, closing contacts 4'6 and5 7 so that the motorwill be thrown into circuit with the power circuit 11, 12. v r c g Y Themotor will now start up operating the refrigerating apparatus andtemperature will As soon as mercury falls fromthe contact point begin toreduce, and mercury will begin to fall. 2

at the upper limit 50 the circuit of the solenoid no-longer would bemaintained at this point, and.

the solenoid would deenergize and open the contacts 46, 5--7, and themotor would stop unless means were provided to prevent this. This meansconsists of the lead 21 which is plugged into the socket correspondingto the low limit 46 through'which the solenoid circuitis maintaineduntil after the mercury falls below this low limit 46. This lead 21maintains a circuit through contacts 22, 23, wire 24, wire 19, solenoidcoil,

wire 13, wire 12, wire 11,wire. 16 back to the column of mercury. Thesolenoid thus being maintained energized, contacts 4-6 and 5-'7 v willremain closed and the motor and'refrigerat taining circuit justdescribed and the refrigerat.

ing apparatus will remain at rest until the temperature rises throu htheprescribed range of 46 to 50. It will be understood that the range oftemperature may be varied at will because lead21 may be plugged into thesockets cor- 'respondingto any of the degrees indicated to determine the10w limit and 1 lead 19 may be plugged into the socket ofv any ofthe'indicated temperatures to determine the upper limit of the range oftemperature.

,While I have described the inventionspecifically'thus far, asapplicable to refrigeration, it will be understood that it may be usedin connection with heating apparatus to establish a range oftemperature, the low limit, of which would be the point at which theapparatus would be put in operation and the'high limit the point atwhich the apparatus would cease to operate. Such apparatus might be anoil burningfurnace or means for opening and closing the drafts of a.coal burning furnace.

The solenoid core may comprise a single piece of iron if desired. Inplace ofthe solenoid, any other form of electromagnet may be used. Moresolenoid or magnet contacts may be provided if needed, as in three phasealternating current, for the motor, if desired. w I In Fig. 2 isshown adiagrammatic drawing of my invention adapted to be used in connectionwith heating apparatus instead of refrigerating apparatus, and thisdiagram shows the use of a clock for establishing automaticallydifferent effectiv e temperature ranges at different times.

In Fig. 2, the motor for the heating apparatus is'indicated at 1; Thisis adaptedto be driven electrically through circuit wires 2' and 3"leading" from contacts 4' and 5', when solenoid Joperated contacts 6.close with said contacts 4 and 5'. The solenoid contacts 6 'l arecarried by the lower portions of the'solenoid core, which in thesolenoid 'ShOWIllS the'iron'portion of energizing core A above which andseparate therefrom is the'brass core or stem 13, which does notenergizer When the solenoidis operated, the iron core A tends to move tothe center thereof and so moves stem B. 7

The solenoid contacts 6 .and T are thus mounted at one end of the corewhile another solenoid contact 23 is carried at the other end of thecore,so that when 6 and 7 are closed with 4 and .5, contact 23' is openand vice versa.

The contacts 6' and 7 are carried by an insulating bar 8 which issecured to the core A,

which is within the solenoid coil 10'. To contact 6 is connected thecircuit wire 11' which is connected with a source of electric power suchas a city system and the contact 7' has connected I to it the otherleadwire 12 of this system or power source. v

The solenoid has one lead wire 13 connected with power lead wire 12' (orit may be connected with lead wire 11'), theother power lead wire 11 (or12) being connected through wire 16 with the mercury in a bulb 17 fromwhich a tube 18' extends upwardly andis graduated as shown. r a

The other end of the solenoid coil is connected by wire 19 to high limitconducting wire 20' through clock D; that is, through axle E, wire L,segment G, and brush C. Said high limit wire 20' is adapted'to beplugged into any of the contact sockets 22' arranged in a row alongsidethe thermometer tube to determine the upper limit of temperature at.which the motor will cease working.

These sockets are connected electrically with the interior of themercury tube at heights corresponding to the height of the respectivesockets.

There is "a low limit conducting wire 21, which extends to a contact 23;companion to contact 24", said contact 23 being carried by the insulatedcross head 9 of the stem portion B of the solenoid core. The contact 24'is connected by conducting wire 25 with wire20' at the end of thecontact brush C. v

The low limit conducting wire '21 can be plugged into any one of thesockets 22 to determine the low limit of temperature at which the motorwill resume its operation. 7

With the parts in the position shown, it will be understood that themotor has driven the heating apparatus until the; chosen hightemperature has been reached and the motor has ceased operation. Theleads 20' and 21 having been plugged in as shown, there is established arange of temperature during'which in rising to the upper limit at lead20, the motor and heating apparatus will be at work and when the upperlimit is reached, the motcr'and heatr ing apparatus will cease work andwill remain'at rest during the falling of temperature from the upperlimit to the lower limit, the motor and heater again working upon thetemperature fall- 7 ing below the lower limit at lead 21.

The diagram represents that the upper limit at lead 20 has beenreached.The motor .con-

tacts' i -+6 and 5"1 are open and the motor isat rest. The contacts23'24 are closed, the solenoid having operated upon the closing of thecircuit through "wire 20 and the mercury to drawlthe coreupwardly tobreak the motor circuit and establish the maintaining circuit throughcontacts 23-24.-', wire 21 and the mercury. The circuit through wire 20'and the mercury is established through wire 20', brush C, block D, wire19f, solenoid coil 10, wire 13, lead 12', then through the other powerlead 11, wire lfi to the mercury in bulb l'l'. l The solenoid will beenergized, draw up its core comprising core A and stem B, openingcontacts 4-- '6' and 5'-7' and closing contacts 23'--24 so that themotor will be thrown'out of operation and the maintaining circuitthrough wire 21' closed, maintaining the solenoid in raised position'and maintaining the motor and heating apparatus out of operation.

The motor and heater being outof operation, the temperature will reduceand the mercury will drop. As soon as the mercury falls fromcontact withwire 20 at the upper limit, the solenoid circuit no longer is maintainedat the point,

and the solenoid would de-energize and close the contacts 4'6' and 5'7and the motor and heater would start, were it not for the maintainingcircuit through lead 21' plugged into the described will be broken,contacts 23-24' will be opened and: contacts 4.'6 and 5'--7' will beclosed by deenergizing of the solenoid and the motor will commenceoperation and further reduction in temperature will be stopped and themercury will begin to rise again under the effect of the heatingapparatus. The heating apparatus will continue to operate until themercury rises to the upper limit at lead 20.

It will be understood that the range of temperature may be varied atwill by plugging leads 20 and 21 into different sockets 22'.

:The purpose of the clock is to automatically provide diflerenttemperature ranges and it will be understood that the clock is notnecessary to the operation of the device with a heating apparatus asjust described and the operation would be the same as to the uppertemperature range established' by leads 20 and 21' were the clockomitted and wire 19' connected directly to wire 20. The sole purpose ofthe clock is to establish automatically difierent temperature ranges atdifierent times and the shaft E of the clock works is provided with acommutator disc F having arcuate contact surfaces G and H thereon. Asshown in Fig. 3, the disc Fis of substantial width and the contactsurfaces G and'H-are disposed-on the opposite peripheral edges of thedisc, contact G to be engaged by brush C and contact H to be engaged bybrush K. Since, as, shown, the segmental contacts G and H togethercomplete a circleoi contact surface, there is always contact of onebrush or the other with the corresponding contact. It will be understoodthat the number of brushes and the number of segmental contacts togethermaking up the full circle and spaced apart across the width of the disc,may be varied as desired, the invention not being limited to theembodiment shown. As shown in Fig. 2, the segmental contact H is onehalfof the extent of contact G, making the former represent 8 hours and thelatter 16 hours, the complete revolution of the disc taking place every24 hours. When brush C is in contact with. the contact G, there is nocontact between brush K and contact H, and vice versa, so that currentthru wire 19', which is in contact in any suitable way with shaft E ofthe clock works, is transmitted from shaft E either through wire L tobrush C as shown or through wire M to brush K, but never through both.Brush K is connected to wire 26 continue to operate which is connectedto wire 25, and which is plugged into a chosen socket 22' to form theupper limit of the lower temperature range. Lower limit wire 27 of thelower temperature range'is plugged in a lower socket 22' and said wire27 is connected to wire 21'. With these connections two temperatureranges are provided for, which will becomeseparately efiective atdifferent times as controlled by the clock works. The lower temperaturerange operates in exactly the same'way as does the upper temperaturerange and at the end of 16 hours the upper range will becomedisconnected and the lower 8 hour range rendered effective.

In the diagram of Fig.2,assuming .the clock is set so that the upperrange is to be effective from 6 A. M. to 10 P. M. and the lower range.to be effective from 10 P. M. to'6 A. M., at 10 P. M., the contact Gwill break contact with the brush C to throw on the upper range, and thecontact H will establish contact with the brush K to throw in the lowerrange. Then the temperature and mercury can drop down to the lower limitof the lower range at wire 27 and the solenoid will be maintainedenergized andthe motor and heating apparatus maintained out of operationuntil the mercury drops below wire 27. Upon the mercury dropping belowwire 27, the motor and heater will. operate and will continue to operateuntil the mercury reaches wire 26 when it will be thrown out ofoperation in'the manner heretofore described, circuit being establishedthrough wire 26, wire 25, brush K, clock D, wire 19', solenoid coil 10,wire 13, lead 12, then through the other power lead 11, wire 1 16' tothe mercury in tube 1'7. The maintaining circuit for the lowertemperature range is established throughwire' 27, wire 21', contact 23,contact 24",wire 25', brush K, etc., as before, and the motor and heaterwill not again I operate until this circuit is broken by the mercurydropping below wire 27.

At the end of 8 hours, the contact H will break contact with brush K andcontact G will make contact with brush C to. throw out the lower 1 rangeand to establish the upper range, thus allowing the motor and heatingapparatus to until the mercuryrises to wire 20'. I

It will thusbe apparent thatby means of the 1 clock works and.structureand connectionsv as shown, diflerent temperature rangesmay bees-. tablished accordinglto time.- The two range connections and clockdisc structure may -be increased to anydesired number of ranges, as 1will be readily apparent.

I do not. limit myself'to the exact connections shown since these may bealtered, within the scope of the invention to suit conditions.

The tube 18 of my thermometer isformed of 1 bakelite which isnon-breakable and a non-conductor of electricity, and preferably,- 1 usetransparent or clear bakelite. In place of bakelite, a

like.

Many difiiculties encountered in the manufac- -ture or use ofa glasstube and bulb are overcome by the present invention, consisting in thecombination of a composition tube of'bakelite with a metal bulb. In theuse of glass, platinum or titanium, wires mustbe used, since the glasstube afterbeing molded in tube'form is broken to provide for theinsertion of the wires and the divided parts subsequently fused togetherwith the wires therein. Any other metal would melt before the glasswould fuse, and thus. iron or steel wirecould not be used in glass. Itis practically impossibleto drill glass to provide holes for the wires,as may be done by the use of bakelite according, to the presentinvention, in which iron or steel wires may beused and secured by adrive fit.

In the use of glass, the glass bulb must be thin in orderto beaccurately sensitive to temperature change, i. e., in order to transmitheat to the mercury. This prevents the use'of-a large quantity ofmercury since the thin glass will not stand'the weight, and therefore,in a glass thermometer, the bore and bulb must be of small capacity. Asmall bore is undesirablebecause the capillary attractiornor frictionon'the side I of the bore makes the mercury hang. A large bore such asmay be used in the bakelite tube is desirable since it is'more accuratedue to less capillary attraction. The metal bulb to which thebakelitetube is secured is responsive and readily transmits temperaturechange to the large quantity of mercury which itcontains.

The bulb may be of iron or other metal which will ,not amalgamate withmercury. A large bore cannot be made in glass as it can in bakelite orcelluloid because a large bore requires a bulb of: large capacity inorder to have enough mercury to respond accurately to temperaturechange, and it being necessary-to have thin glass in the bulb to'.respond properly, the glass will not support the weight of the mercury.'Glass is a conductor of heat but not if it is too thick.

The bakelite or celluloid can be drilled and graduated much moreeffectively and accurately than glass andat lesscost. v r p Bakelite ispreferable for this purpose since it is capableof withstanding highertemperatures than celluloid. :LCelluloid, though well adapted for coldstorage systems, is not, as good as bakelite in heating systems withhigh temperatures.

Iclaim: 1.-In combination, in temperature controlled apparatus ofthetypeemployin'ga clock operated switch for changing from one" chosentemperaturerange to another,..a. mercury tube, an

upper pair of contacts adapted'to be electrically engaged by the mercuryand v establishing upper and lower. limits of a chosen temperaturerange,

a lower-pair of contacts establishing upper'and.

lower limits of a second temperature range, an electromagneticdevice'for controlling a tempera.-

ture changing circuit anda circuit closer forxa maintaining circuit forsaidelectromagnetic device commonto thetwo said pairs of contacts,saidcircuit closer comprising a pair of'coopera'ting contacts one ofwhich is movable by the core of said electromagnetic device, said pairof contactsbeing independent of any other contacts in said apparatus andsolely adapted to maintain f the electromagnet circuit closed during thechange of temperature through the operating temperature range.

. 2. Apparatus according to claim 1 in which said solenoid circuitmaintaining means includes a connection in common from the lower limitcontacts of each of said pairs of contacts to the one of saidindependent cooperating contacts which is movable by the solenoid core,and 'a connection in common from the upper limit. contacts of each ofsaid-pairs of contacts to the other of said independent cooperatingcontacts.

3. In combination in temperature controlled apparatus, a mercury tubehaving a series of electric contacts disposed along 'the'samei withwhich the mercury makes electric connection, leads adapted to be pluggedinto connection with said contacts and including -a pair of leads to beconnected to determine the upper and lower limits of a chosentemperature range,

one lead of said pairto be connected to de-' termine the uppertemperature limit and the other lead of said pair to be connectedto'determine the lower temperature limit of the range, a circuitincluding a solenoid controlling a temperature changing circuit, meansfor closing the circuit to operate thesolenoid when one noid, said pairof contacts being independent of any other contacts in saidap'paratusand solely adapted to maintain the solenoid circuit closed during thechange of temperature throughout the chosen range of degrees, saidsolenoid having a core actuated member carrying a pair of contactsconnected directly one to each side of the power line, a pair ofcontacts controlling a temperature changing circuit anddisposed toengage with said pair of contacts on the solenoid, said one of said pairof cooperating solenoidcircuit maintaining contacts which is mountedtomove with the core of the solenoid being mounted independently of saidother contacts.

4. Apparatus according to claim 1 in which said electromagnet circuitmaintaining" circuit includes aconnection in common from the lower-

